The Stoke City players likely to leave in two months time | OneFootball

We have picked out some Potters players that could depart in the January transfer window

Stoke City have had a mixed start to the Championship season, and as the January transfer window fast approaches, boss Narcis Pelach will have an eye on both potential incomings and outgoings in the new year.

The Potters look to have finally settled into the campaign after a turbulent last few months, and have gone on an impressive recent run of form, with key wins against Portsmouth, Derby County and Blackburn Rovers.

Pelach was only appointed as head-coach in mid-September, and so was not involved in any of the club's transfer dealings over the summer, but has done a decent job so far with the squad he inherited from Steven Schumacher.

The fact that the Spaniard is having to work with players that he has not picked to play for him means he will likely want to shape the team to his liking when the opportunity arises, and in doing so, let some fringe players go in the new year to make space in the squad for fresh faces.

The Potters have a pretty thin squad as it stands, but will inevitably allow some players to seek pastures new, and with that said, Football League World have picked out three players that look likely to leave the bet365 Stadium in January.

Jaden Dixon

Young centre-back Jaden Dixon has enjoyed a rapid rise to become a regular fixture in Stoke's senior squad over the last 12 months, but his inexperience could work to his detriment in the short-term under Pelach, and he may be allowed to leave on loan in the new year as a result.

The 17-year-old began to regularly train with the first-team at the start of last season, after joining the club from Tottenham Hotspur's academy, then made the senior bench for the first time at Leicester City last October.

He has stepped up even further this season to make his four professional appearances in the EFL Cup, as well as featuring from the bench in the Championship on a couple of occasions, but has seen more trusted senior players preferred over him since Pelach's appointment.

Dixon has been filling in at right-back for the first-team since breaking through, but is a centre-back by trade and would surely prefer consistent minutes in that position at senior level to keep his development going, and not slow it down by staying in the under-21 side and on the first-team bench for the rest of the season.

Stoke will surely seek defensive reinforcements in the new year too, and so with that in mind, a first loan exit of his career seems probable in January, even at such a young age, most likely to a League Two side that needs reinforcements at the back.

Niall Ennis

The January window will represent a year at Stoke for striker Niall Ennis, and he has struggled to prove himself in red and white so far, so could make way in the new year as the Potters look to bolster their front-line with new additions.

Ennis joined Stoke to aid their troubles in front of goal, after he had shone under Schumacher during their time together at Plymouth Argyle, and had struggled to find his feet at Blackburn Rovers following a summer 2023 move to Ewood Park.

He has also struggled for form at the bet365 Stadium though, as he netted just once in 14 league games in his first six months, and has been pushed further down the pecking order this season due to the arrivals of the likes of Tom Cannon and Sam Gallagher, and Schumacher's departure.

The 25-year-old was linked with moves to League One sides Barnsley and Wrexham late on in the summer window, but a move never materialised, yet either club may look to reignite their interest in the new year as they each look to consolidate their positions in the top-six of the third-tier.

He has recently been consigned to rarely making the matchday squad, with Pelach clearly unconvinced by his impact on the team when he comes on as a substitute, ahead of a surely inevitable departure in January, either on loan or on a permanent deal.

Emre Tezgel

Young striker Emre Tezgel has struggled for minutes since Pelach took over in September, and should be offered a loan exit in January on the one condition that he signs a new deal at his boyhood club.

The 19-year-old is also currently behind Cannon and Sam Gallagher in the striking pecking order, and while he enjoyed a successful re-emergence onto the first-team scene under previous boss Steven Schumacher at the start of the campaign, his opportunities have been very limited in recent months, and he needs to play consistently at senior level at this stage of his development.

He has been highly rated for a number of years as a youth striker, and became the youngest player to ever play for Stoke when he made his senior debut in January 2022 at 16 years and 112 days old, but suffered injury issues before he joined MK Dons on loan in the last January window to help with their play-off push, where he made 17 appearances and registered three goals and assists each under Mike Williamson.

Stoke will surely look to sign a new striker to compete with Cannon in the new year, and may even need to replace the Leicester City loanee if he is recalled to be sold on by the Foxes, so it seems unlikely that Tezgel will force his way into the starting eleven for good anytime soon.

His current contract is set to expire at the end of this season, so prior to any January loan move, it is imperative that the club tie him down to a new long-term deal as quickly as possible if he is to be the future of Stoke's strike force in the long-term.